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Opinion: Demagogue-in-Chief

Editorial board member Steve Moore on the GOP's negotiations with President Obama on averting the fiscal cliff. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'd mind joined now by Steve Moore in Washington I don't speak ... I've yet stable we talk the fiscal cliff off I wanna play of quick clip of President Obama in his so Washington statement on his impending negotiations with the Republican so stick with what some of this right now ... we can't just our way to prosper ... if we're serious about reducing the baths ... we have the combined spending cuts ... with revenue ... and that means asking the wealthiest Americans paid little more in taxes ... that's how we did the the the the the uh uh uh uh uh uh ... that's what we did it ... in the nineteen nineties when Bill Clinton was president ... that's all we can reduce the deficit while still making investments we need to build a strong middle class and strong ... that's the only way we can still afford to train or workers ... or help our kids pay for college ... four make sure that the jobs in clean energy or high tech manufacturing ... don't end up in countries like China ... by Steve are ... in the Wall Street Journal also reported this morning that the president now intends to launch a public campaign on behalf of his position on the fiscal cliff ... on ... so this causes me to my mind giving a somewhat new meaning to the fresh negotiations of what are you picking up on the Republican side in re action two of the president so strategy here on the fiscal cliff ... well that I love the present state of the week yet got cut our way to prosperity and and and that's essentially what he's saying is ... weren't accelerated past eternity ... well good luck with that ... I think the Republicans I did an interview with Mitch McConnell this weekend for the paper ... that I was I was struck by the fact that he and I think John Binner our ups on say the same mind on that ... that they're not can I capitulated on this idea of raising tax rates now that it's a lot more flexible ... on not raising taxes by closing loopholes and so on but if the president is commences on raising those rates down ... I think you can have a battle Royale I think this is going to be dragged out for many months and I don't think it's can have a happy and earn for either party yet well interesting I mean we do know that the one thing the president wants very specific very clearly is to raise those two top rate on the wealthiest right I think that what that at this point ... that someone like Senator McConnell must be wondering is ... what ... are they going to get in return what else the young you are raising a toast tax reach the supposed to occur ... in these negotiations ... well one of things remember that we talk about this issue the fiscal cliff the app there's there's generally separate issues here there's what we're going to let the tax side which is willing to talk about but not that of course there's the spending side where they have ... this automatic sequester this can go when go back to one of things like got my own opinion as I'm not afraid of the sequester I think spending cuts might be a good thing to do right now but one thing Mitch McConnell that saves but if we're going to turn off the sequester which probably is going to happen ... we wanna ironclad guarantee from this president of the Democrats in Congress to really get that amount of spending cuts uh hundred ten billion dollars somewhere else and it's a question whether the president is going to capitulate data on that because quite frankly the president doesn't want that much of anything ... well I mean that's right he just go back to this they can be made on Friday he said that he says we need this money to be able trainer workers help with his paper at all its ... major in God jobs in clean energy he calls these investments but investments aren't back spending so with the president's talking about at the moment our increased levels of spending ... in some categories and ... that doesn't so some like cutting the tops of May ... not all I think the fact that so funny when Pres Obama says we just cut our way to prosperity we haven't had anything in four years ago the biggest ... expansion in government that has since World War two ... but there is the other interesting op however this if you look at the president's ... economic recovery plan ... the cost for a hundred billion dollars more stimulus so you're right ... he has no intention of cutting spending unless Republicans insist upon insult ... that maybe the older you know that they might have some tax increase but it's gonna have to be coupled with the Rio ... and ended very specific ... Caden and government agencies and entitlement running on the ask about ironing it was pointed out in our lead editorial was morning which is that ... tax receipts tax payments have been rising in the last couple of years ... and that's been happening under the current so-called Bush tax rates ... get yourself to write about not know what the Proms with raising the stats for a status ... I believe that they're not Guinea get anywhere near the that they couldn't get a billion dollars in your which by the way still leaves of the trillion dollar Duff said ... but I'm here to tell you right now that I can get anywhere near eighteen billion dollars of revenue should have tax avoidance strategies you can be of people putting on Bassman somewhere owls doubly lucky if they get half that amount which still leaves a gigantic deficit problem ... now ... and what if the president doesn't get the growth rate above two percent by ... one of the things that either did ... not have any revenue growth whatsoever I think ... that that's the key point the oven nobody's talking about that ... on the week that the growth rate back up to three to four to five percent ... I don't see how you do that if you're raising capital gains and dividend tax all right thanks alot Steve ...